The 1899 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1899, to elect the 33rd governor of Kentucky. Incumbent Republican governor William O'Connell Bradley was term-limited and ineligible to seek re-election.
During a contentious and chaotic convention at the Music Hall in Louisville, the Democratic Party nominated state Senator William Goebel. A dissident faction of the party, styling themselves the "Honest Election Democrats", were angered by Goebel's political tactics at the Music Hall convention and later held their own convention. They nominated former Governor John Y. Brown. Republicans nominated state Attorney General William S. Taylor, although Governor Bradley favored another candidate and lent Taylor little support in the ensuing campaign. In the general election, Taylor won by a vote of 193,714 to 191,331. Brown garnered 12,040 votes, more than the difference between Taylor and Goebel. The election results were challenged on grounds of voter fraud, but the state Board of Elections, created by a law Goebel had sponsored and stacked with pro-Goebel commissioners, certified Taylor's victory.
An incensed Democratic majority in the Kentucky General Assembly created a committee to investigate the charges of voter fraud, even as armed citizens from heavily Republican eastern Kentucky poured into the state capital under the auspices of keeping Democrats from stealing the election. Before the investigative committee could report, Goebel was shot by an unknown assassin while entering the state capitol on January 30, 1900. As Goebel lay in a nearby hotel being treated for his wounds, the committee issued its report recommending that the General Assembly invalidate enough votes to give the election to Goebel. The report was accepted, Taylor was removed from office, and Goebel was sworn into office on January 31. He died three days later on February 3.
Lieutenant Governor J. C. W. Beckham ascended to the office of governor, and he and Taylor waged a protracted court battle over the governorship. Beckham won the case on appeal, and Taylor fled to Indiana to escape prosecution as an accomplice in Goebel's murder. A total of sixteen people were charged in connection with the assassination. Five went to trial; two of those were acquitted. Each of the remaining three were convicted in trials fraught with irregularities and were eventually pardoned by subsequent governors. The identity of Goebel's assassin remains a mystery.
Background
In the 1895 gubernatorial election, Kentucky elected its first-ever Republican governor, William O. Bradley. Bradley was able to capitalize both on divisions within the Democratic Party over the Free Silver issue and on the presence of a strong third-party candidate, Populist Thomas S. Pettit, to secure victory in the general election by just under 9,000 votes. This election marked the beginning of nearly thirty years of true two-party competition in Kentucky politics, but the state Constitution barred the governor from being re-elected.
A powerful Democratic foe of Bradley had begun his rise to power in the Kentucky Senate. Kenton County's William Goebel became the leader of a new group of young Democrats who were seen as enemies of large corporations, particularly the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and friends of the working man. Goebel was known as aloof and calculating. Unmarried and with few close friends of either gender, he was singularly driven by political power.
Goebel was chosen president pro tem of the Senate for the 1898 legislative session. On February 1, 1898, he sponsored a measure later called the Goebel Election Law. The law created a Board of Election Commissioners, appointed by the General Assembly, who were responsible for choosing election commissioners in all of Kentucky's counties and were empowered to decide disputed elections. Because the General Assembly was heavily Democratic, the law was attacked as blatantly partisan and self-serving to Goebel; it was opposed even by some Democrats. Nevertheless, Goebel was able to hold enough members of his party together to override Governor Bradley's veto, making the bill law. As leader of the legislative majority, Goebel essentially hand-picked the members of the Election Commission. He chose three staunch Democrats—W. S. Pryor, former chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals; W. T. Ellis, former U. S. Representative from Daviess County; and C. B. Poyntz, former head of the state railroad commission. Republicans organized a test case against the law, but the Court of Appeals found it constitutional.
Democratic nominating convention
Three Democratic candidates had announced intentions to run for governor in 1899—Goebel, former Kentucky Attorney General P. Wat Hardin, and former congressman William J. Stone. Hardin, a native of Mercer County, had the backing of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Lyon County's Stone had the backing of the state's agricultural interests. Goebel generally had the backing of urban voters. Going into the party's nominating convention, Hardin was the favorite to win the nomination. Knowing that combining forces was the only way to prevent Hardin's nomination, representatives of Goebel and Stone met on June 19, 1899, to work out a deal. According to Urey Woodson, a Goebel representative at the meeting, the two sides signed an agreement whereby half of the Louisville delegation, which was committed to Goebel, would vote for Stone. Both men agreed that, should one of them be defeated or withdraw from the race, they would encourage their delegates to vote for the other rather than support Hardin.
The Democratic nominating convention began on June 20, at the Music Hall on Market Street in Louisville. The first order of business was to nominate a convention chairman. Ollie M. James, a supporter of Stone, nominated Judge David Redwine. When Woodson seconded the nomination, the deal between Stone and Goebel became apparent to all. Hardin supporters nominated William H. Sweeney, but the Stone-Goebel alliance elected Redwine. The membership of several county delegations was challenged; these cases would be decided by the credentials committee. This committee was also stacked against Hardin; his supporters made up just four of the thirteen members. Prolonged deliberations by the credentials committee caused the delegates to become restless, and hundreds of people—both delegates and non-delegates—entered the Music Hall attempting to disrupt the convention. When Redwine summoned Louisville city police to the hall to maintain order, Hardin supporters accused him of using intimidation tactics. The credentials committee finally issued its report on June 23. Of the twenty-eight cases where delegates were contested, twenty-six of them were decided in favor of Goebel or Stone supporters.
Formal nominations began the following day. Hardin felt as though he had been cheated and withdrew his candidacy, although some loyal delegates continued to vote for him. Delegate John Stockdale Rhea nominated Stone. Stone believed his agreement with Goebel meant, with Hardin's withdrawal, Goebel would instruct his delegates to vote for Stone, maintaining a unified party. That understanding vanished when another delegate nominated Goebel. Stone was further incensed when all of the Louisville delegation voted for Goebel instead of being split between Stone and Goebel, as the two men had previously agreed. In retaliation, some Stone supporters began to back Hardin. Seeing the breakdown of the Stone-Goebel alliance, Hardin reversed his withdrawal. After numerous ballots, the convention was deadlocked on the night of June 24 with each candidate receiving about one-third of the votes. No deliberations were held on Sunday, June 25, and when the delegates reconvened on Monday, June 26, the hall was filled with police per Redwine's request. Rhea requested that the police be removed to prevent intimidation, but Redwine ruled the motion out of order. Another delegate appealed Redwine's decision, and, in violation of parliamentary rule, Redwine ruled the appeal out of order. Angered by Redwine's obviously biased rulings, delegates for Stone and Hardin then began trying to disrupt the convention by blowing horns, singing, yelling, and standing on chairs. Although voting was attempted, many delegates abstained because they were unable to hear and understand what was going on. When the voting—such as it was—ended, the chair announced that Goebel had a majority of the votes cast, but Goebel sent word to Redwine that he would accept the nomination only if he received an absolute majority of the delegates. Further attempts to vote were likewise disrupted, and the meeting adjourned for the day.
On the morning of June 27, the hall was orderly. Stone and Hardin both called for the convention to adjourn sine die. Again, Redwine ruled this motion and the subsequent appeal of his decision out of order. Leaders for Stone and Hardin announced they would not disrupt the proceedings as they had the previous day and that they would abide by the convention's decision. As voting proceeded, Stone and Hardin unsuccessfully tried to form an alliance against Goebel, and the balloting was deadlocked for twenty-four consecutive ballots. The delegates agreed to drop the third-place candidate on the next ballot; that turned out to be Stone. The votes of the urban centers, previously divided between Stone and Goebel, now went entirely to Goebel, while the rural western counties that had supported Stone went to Hardin. The vote remained close, but as the alphabetical roll call proceeded, Goebel secured the votes of Stone's Union County delegation, giving him the nomination. Following the vote, Hardin and Stone leaders pledged their support to Goebel, though some did so in qualified terms. For lieutenant governor, the Democrats nominated J. C. W. Beckham who, at age 29, was not yet legally old enough to assume the governorship if called on to do so. Goebel questioned the selection of Beckham because Beckham's native Nelson County had voted for Hardin and was largely controlled by political boss Ben Johnson, but Goebel's allies convinced him that Beckham would be loyal to his program. Among the other nominees was ex-Confederate soldier Robert J. Breckinridge Jr., for attorney general. This nomination helped placate the numerous ex-Confederates in the party, since Goebel's father had fought for the Union. It was not enough, however, to persuade Breckinridge's brother, former congressman W. C. P. Breckinridge, to support the ticket.
Republican nominating convention
Potential Republican gubernatorial candidates were initially few. Some were not interested in being on the defense against the inevitable Democratic attacks on the Bradley administration. Still others were intimidated by the prospect of being defeated by the machinery of the Goebel Election Law. Party leaders were encouraged, however, by the deep Democratic divisions at the Music Hall Convention. Sitting attorney general William S. Taylor was the first to announce his candidacy and soon secured the support of Republican senator William Deboe. Later candidates included Hopkins County judge Clifton J. Pratt and sitting state Auditor Samuel H. Stone. The former was the choice of Governor Bradley, while the latter was supported by Lexington Herald editor Sam J. Roberts. Taylor, like Goebel, was a skilled political organizer. He was able to create a strong political machine amongst the county delegations and seemed the favorite to win the nomination.
The Republican nominating convention convened on July 12 in Lexington, Kentucky. Angry that his party had not more seriously considered his candidate, Governor Bradley did not attend. Black leaders in the party threatened to follow Bradley and organize their own nominating convention, as they believed Taylor represented the "lily-white" branch of the party. Taylor attempted to hold the party together by making one of the black leaders permanent secretary of the convention and promising to appoint other black leaders to his cabinet if elected. He also tried to bring Bradley back to the convention by promising to nominate Bradley's nephew, Edwin P. Morrow, for secretary of state. Bradley refused the offer. In the face of Taylor's superior organization, Auditor Stone announced that he desired to see a united party and moved that Taylor be nominated unanimously; Judge Pratt seconded the motion. Other notable nominations were John Marshall for lieutenant governor, Caleb Powers for secretary of state, and Judge Pratt for attorney general.
"Honest Election Democrats"
Some Democrats remained unsatisfied with the outcome of the Music Hall Convention. After a period of silence, candidate William Stone publicly detailed the arrangement he believed he had with Goebel and how Goebel had broken it. Although Goebel's allies attempted to defend him against the charges, Stone's story was soon corroborated by former congressman W. C. Owens. Owens called on Democrats to vote for the Republican candidate, and to do so in such large numbers that no amount of political wrangling by Goebel could give him the governorship.
A group of Louisville Democrats, supporters of U. S. Senator Jo Blackburn, made the first formal calls for a new convention. A short time after, a large meeting at Mount Sterling gave the movement a definite form. They called for a meeting in Lexington on August 2 to organize the details of a new convention. At subsequent mass meetings, it was announced that former governor John Y. Brown would accept the nomination of a second convention, should one be held. As Brown had been thought to be a supporter of Goebel, this announcement caused a stir among Democrats. Representatives of sixty counties attended the August 2 meeting in Lexington. Resolutions endorsing the Democratic platform from the 1896 Democratic National Convention and the future candidacy of William Jennings Bryan in 1900 were adopted. Then, ex-governor Brown addressed the crowd. Finally, the representatives agreed to a nominating convention to be held on August 16.